OK, enough! When General Conference has to be reminded by its secretary that "Christians don't threaten one another, Christians don't harm one another," it's a sure bet that God's Holy Spirit has left the building.
That's what happened during the May 14 opening plenary. No foolin'. General Conference Secretary Gere Reist announced from the stage that there were reports (verified, I assume) of delegates confronting each other with harsh words, of observers confronting delegates, of delegates verbally abusing convention center staff, and of delegates actually threatening one another with physical violence.
Despite a mountain of problems and errors as high as Oregon's Mount Hood, I have resisted the impulse at this General Conference to let my inner Mama Bear loose in Portland – until now.
Why is that we who are observers outside the official participants in General Conference can see its bad behavior so clearly while the actors themselves are apparently clueless to the embarrassment and damage their tantrums make? Yes, Mama Bear said "tantrums," because much of this behavior is reminiscent of our son when he was 3 years old.
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Mama Bear
I am not alone in this observation, as posts by others among our UM Insight contributors will attest (see Geoffrey Kruse-Safford, Dan R. Dick and Jeremy Smith, among them). However, while my colleagues have approached the matter with more gentle spiritual remonstrance, after this morning's public announcement Mama Bear has to roar:
Stop it, all of you! Stop it right this minute! You are making a mockery of General Conference and of The United Methodist Church, which is not YOUR church, but the Church of Jesus Christ! How dare you profane the body of Christ in this way?
Yes, I said, "profane," because that's precisely what such behavior is doing. We have been hearing all week about the true heart of Christian faith, and about how genuine followers of Jesus behave in light of his teachings, and yet, as Bishop Bruce Ough rightly said during a press conference, we leave the plenary and behave as if we've heard nothing.
Whether one believes in a physical manifestation of evil or not, it is abundantly clear that demonic forces are loose at this General Conference. I name these forces: fear, suspicion, prejudice, violence of heart and mind, pride and arrogance. Lest anyone begin to gloat, I further proclaim that these forces are not confined to any one political or theological viewpoint, but are rampaging among all like wolves amid sheep. General Conference is under spiritual attack, and it's apparent to those few mature Christians among us with eyes to see and ears to hear. We must stop before we damage our global denomination beyond repair.
For myself, despite my disabilities, I plan to prostrate myself in the prayer room this afternoon, and beg God's forgiveness for the sins of this congregation. We all should be ashamed, and throw ourselves in humility before God in repentance. Until we do, nothing done at this General Conference will be for God's glory.
United Methodist Insight Editor Cynthia B. Astle has reported on eight General Conferences. As of May 14, 2016, the current General Conference is the most antagonistic and acrimonious such event she has observed in 28 years.